11/23/2007

Conde Nast Portfolio: Bubble Economy

In most industries, double-digit growth would be something to celebrate. But in the champagne business, it's cause for quiet unease. Rising wealth, particularly in Russia and China, has led to new markets for a product with an inherently limited supply. (Under French law, all champagne must be made from grapes grown within 84,000 acres of the Champagne region.) While sales of Mot Hennessy were up 13 percent worldwide last year, the figure for Asia was 25 percent.

To address the anticipated shortage, champagne producers have lobbied to expand the growing districts of Champagne. But that could take years, as it requires permission from the notoriously bureaucratic Institut National des Appellations d'Origine, the French government agency that protects the identity of wine regions. Another option is to wring more grapes out of the farmers who grow them. Some 20,000 individuals own land in Champagne, in plots that range in size from a single acre to 50.

Many farmers don't want to sell more grapes, though, because they're now producing their own sparkling wines. Known in the business as grower champagnes, these wines are made in tiny quantities—100,000 bottles at most—and are catching on at top U.S. restaurants like Napa Valley's French Laundry, Chicago's Charlie Trotter's, and New York's Gramercy Tavern. Below, some notable grower champagnes (all available in major U.S. wineshops or at Wine-Searcher.com).â€‚

Larmandier-Bernier
Pierre Larmandier practices "biodynamic" viticulture, an über-organic style of growing that eschews chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The 2002 Cramant ($75) consists entirely of chardonnay grapes from Cramant, a village given grand cru status as one of France's best regions.

Jacques Lassaigne
The Champagne region is divided into four areas, and Lassaigne's property is in the desirable southern Montgueux section, close to the Burgundy border. The family's Les Vignes de Montgueux ($45) is served at such restaurants as El Bulli, outside Barcelona, Spain.

Tarlant
The Tarlant family has been farming in the Champagne region since 1687 and currently produces about 12,000 cases a year. Brut Zero ($45) is made with both white and black grapes—equal parts chardonnay, pinot meunier, and pinot noir.

Franoise Bedel
To make a blanc de noirs, or white champagne from black grapes like pinot noir, Bedel quickly drains the juice from the skins. Like Larmandier, she works biodynamically. Entre Ciel et Terre ($65) is made from chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier.

Post a comment

(Name and email address are required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)

Name is required to post a comment

Please enter a valid email address

Invalid URL

This weblog only allows comments from registered users. To comment, please enable JavaScript so you can sign in.

Get news & updates from Alice

I'm hunting the Leon Trotskys, the Philip Roths, the Chaucers and the Edith Whartons of the wine world. I want them natural and most of all, I want them to speak the truth even if we argue. With this messiah thing going on, I'm trying to swell the ranks of those who crave the differences in each vintage, celebrate nuance and desire wines that make them think, laugh, and feel. Welcome.

And, if you'd like a signed copy of either THE BATTLE FOR WINE AND LOVE OR HOW I SAVED THE WORLD FROM PARKERIZATION or NAKED WINE, feel free to contact me directly.